PART VI

Volume IX - The Unity of Religious Ideals

Part VI

THE UNIVERSAL WORSHIP

The religious activity of the Sufi Movement is called
the Universal Worship, or the Church of All. Why is it so
named? Because it contains all different ways of worship
and all Churches.

This Universal Worship which has been organized in the
Sufi Movement was the hope of all prophets. The prayer and
the desire of all great souls was that the light given in
all the different forms such as the Buddhist scriptures,
the Quran, the Bible or the teachings of Krishna or Zarathushtra,
should be known by everyone. The work of the Sufi message
is to spread the unity of religion. It is not a mission
to promote a particular creed or any Church or religion.
It is a work to unite the followers of different religions
and faiths in wisdom, so that without having to give up
their own religion they may strengthen their own faith and
focus the true light upon it. In this way a greater trust,
a greater confidence, will be established in mankind. Behind
all wars there is a suggestion of religion. Whenever there
has been a war, and even now, in such wars as we have gone
through, we always see the finger of religion. People think
that the reason for war is mostly political, but religion
is a greater warmonger than any political ideas. Those who
give their lives for an idea always show some touch of religion.

This religious channel which is Sufism exists in order
to avoid greater catastrophes, and to gather together the
followers of different religions in the understanding of
the one truth behind them, so that they may hold in respect
all the teachers of humanity who have given their lives
in the service of truth. Instead of doing as the theologists
in colleges who only want to find what is the difference
between Moses and Buddha. One should look behind all religions
to see where they unite, to find out how the followers of
all the different religions can be friends, how they can
come to that one truth. To say that the whole world must
belong to one Church, one religion, is absurd as for all
people to wear one kind of dress. The world would become
uninteresting. Let the people have Churches, beliefs and
faiths. Let them have different conceptions of things as
long as they are brought closer to the realization of truth.
Then they will naturally understand better that it is true
wisdom which is the real light, that it is the central wisdom
which brings them together and which is the inspirer of
humanity.

Religion is something which touches the depths of the
heart; and everyone has his own conceptions of religion
which he holds as sacred. By expressing one's opinion too
freely one may easily hurt that conception which another
holds as sacred. Nevertheless, the need of a Universal Worship,
a Church of All, has been felt at all times. It has been
the ideal of the great prophets to bring the whole of humanity
into one religion; but as humanity has a great variety of
conceptions, this has never been easy.

Religion consists of five principal elements: belief
in God, adoration of the spiritual ideal, the moral conception,
the form of worship, and the philosophy of life. When we
consider the variety of religions in the world, we find
that some believe in one God, some in many gods; some are
monotheists, some pantheists. In this way the conception
of God changes among the civilized peoples of the world,
and we may be thankful that it is no longer the case that
every family has its own God.

How does the Sufi think of God? Does he believe in one
God? If he believes in one God, then how can he tolerate
the belief in many gods? The answer is that the aim of the
Sufi is to bring peace among the different believers. He
does not wish to differ from them. He sees their point of
view. He sees that those who have many gods also worship
one God. It is simply that they worship the different attributes
of God. The great ones, in order to make God intelligible
to man, have given Him different names. In that way they
made man see the divine manifestations clearly, and that
is also why some of the teachers have distinguished between
the different gods. There is a saying, ' To understand all
is to forgive all,' and it is in accordance with this saying
that the Sufi looks upon life.

One might say that one can be either a pantheist or a
monotheist, but that one cannot be both. Yes, many who look
at theology from the outside say that these are two distinct
ideas about God, and they are willing to accept one of them
but not both. In point of fact it is most necessary that
these two opposing ideas should exist. When we look at the
center of a line it is one. When we look at the ends there
are two. Monotheism is as important as pantheism. No one
can be a pantheist if he was not once a monotheist; and
if one began by being a pantheist, one would never understand
the conception of God. The monotheistic idea is necessary
in order to realize fully the beauty of the pantheistic
idea.

Then there is the idea of God being a personal God. Some
find it very difficult to imagine God as a person. They
feel it is like limiting God, whereas another will think
that if God is not a person, He no longer exists for him,
and that He might just as well be air, space, or time. Both
of these have their reasons, and the Sufi prepares himself
to look at both from their own point of view. He comes to
the conclusion that from the personal ideal one can rise
to the complete ideal. The complete ideal embraces the seen
and unseen, within and without: the Absolute. Therefore
the Sufi has no difficulty either with the worshipper of
one God or the worshipper of many gods, because he can see
both their points of view. He gives their point of view
a place in life. He sees the natural development of human
conception, expanding from the narrow perception to the
highest ideal. But if someone asks the Sufi, ' You Sufis
who tolerate all these different conceptions, what is your
own conception?' he says, ' There is no such thing as the
Sufi conception, although I have my personal conception.
The God who is considered by people as the Judge and the
Creator, as the Lord of heaven, is to me my Beloved. He
is my beloved Ideal who alone deserves all my devotion.
He is all the beauty that is to be loved.'

Therefore the Sufi establishes his relationship with
God as the relationship between him and the Beloved. His
worship of God is the expansion of the heart. His love for
all beings and for every being is his love for God. He cannot
find anyone to love except God, because he sees God in all.
If his love is shown in devotion to parents, to wife, to
children if it is shown to neighbors, to a friend or in
tolerating enemies, the Sufi considers this as an action
of his love towards God. In this way he fulfills in his
life the teaching of the Bible, 'We live and move and have
our being in God.'

The second aspect of religion is the spiritual ideal
in man. If ever man has found God manifest on earth it is
in the godly. Whenever humanity touches the height of civilization
we see the divine manifested in a human being, a human being
who in his life expresses God fully. To some that great
ideal has appeared and they have called it Jesus Christ.
In other parts of the world, among other races and in other
times, this same manifestation which human beings felt to
be divine was called Buddha or Moses or Muhammad. People
followed them, loved them, adored them, and helped them
in their difficulties. Through them a certain way of living,
a harmonious life was given to their followers. The world
has always received different manifestations like these
whenever it was needed. But the limitation of mankind made
them quarrel about the great personalities they each adored,
and they have tried to question the greatness and goodness
of the teachers of other communities. In this way humanity
has become divided into sects.

The Sufi looks at this from a tolerant point of view.
He believes that to have devotion for a spiritual ideal,
just as for a human personality, is an individual matter.
And because he thinks that the ideal of the teacher who
is revered by someone is too sacred to interfere with, he
unites it with all others. If one asks the Sufi, 'Which
ideal do you hold?' he says, 'One Teacher; the only one
who has always been there, who claimed to be Alpha and Omega,
the first and the last. All these different names which
the world holds in esteem are names of one personality.'
Whatever name it is, the Sufi feels exaltation. He sees
one sacred personality behind all those names.

The third aspect is the moral conception. The followers
of one religion dispute with the followers of another for
not having the same standard of morals. But it is presumption
on the part of a man to judge another by his own standard
of morals. It is unjust to try to judge another community
from one's own point of view. There is no action which one
can point out as being sin or virtue, nor right or wrong.
Things become right or wrong according to the place or the
time. Good and evil are understood by a natural insight
of the soul. The soul is beautiful and it looks for beauty.
What is lacking in beauty is that which may be called evil,
and what is beautiful is that which may be called virtue.
No doubt at a certain time a certain rule of life was given;
but it is not right to judge the religion of different people
according to that rule of life. Thus, the work of the Sufi
is to awaken in his heart the sensitiveness which will enable
him to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil. And
in this way, with the ever-increasing awakening of this
spirit of sensitiveness, the Sufi builds his character.
The Sufi is ready to tolerate others, to forgive others.
He takes himself to task if he lacks beauty in expression,
in thought in speech, or in action.

The fourth aspect is the form of worship. The forms of
worship of all the different religions are necessarily different.
It depends upon what one is accustomed to, what is akin
to one's nature. One cannot make a common rule and say that
this form is wrong and that form is right. One person will
perhaps feel more exaltation in a form of worship which
includes some art. It stimulates his emotional nature. Music,
pictures, perfumes, colors, and light, all these have an
effect upon such a person. Another can concentrate better
if there is nothing in the place of worship to catch his
attention. It is all a matter of temperament. It is not
wrong to prefer the one or the other. The Sufi sees the
variety of forms as different ideals. He does not attach
importance to the outer expression. If there is a sincere
spirit behind it, if a person has a feeling for worship,
it does not matter what form of worship it is. In church,
in an open place, everywhere there is an answer to the feeling
for worship.

The Universal Worship is not another Church to be included
among the variety of existing Churches. It is a Church which
gives an opportunity to those belonging to different religions
to worship together. Also it gives practice in paying respect
to the great ones who have come from time to time to serve
humanity. The different scriptures of those who have taught
wisdom are read at the altar of the Church of All. Nevertheless,
no Sufi is compelled even to attend this Church of All.
A Sufi, to whatever church he goes, is a Sufi. Being a Sufi
is a point of view. It means having a certain outlook on
life but not necessarily going to a particular church.

And finally there is the fifth aspect, the philosophical
side of religion. One gathers through the Universal Worship
that there is one source from which all scriptures have
come, and that in spite of beliefs in many gods there is
only one God. And in this way we come to the realization
which we seek through worship, through devotion: that there
is only one truth. For anyone who has ever reached it or
will ever reach it, it is one and the same truth. Truth
can be traced in all the great scriptures of the world and
is taught by all the great ones who have come from time
to time. Nothing, no community, Church, or belief, should
keep one back from that realization in which lies the purpose
of life. Verily, truth is the seeking of every soul and
it is truth which can save.